Marketers often stress the importance of a consistent brand voice. Customers want to feel that they are interacting with a coherent entity, even though they understand that many people participate in the business. So we work to develop a distinctive “voice” and style for the brand that carries through all communications. When you work for the same business long enough, you […]
writing
Another Book for Writers: The Sense of Style
Does thinking about grammar rules make your eyes glaze over? Here’s a book to unglazed those eyes: The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker. Despite having a formal education in English literature from a fine academic institution, grammar terminology gives me the creeps. Pluperfect, prepositional objects, predictive […]
Writing, Courage, and Community
My voice teacher hosts a monthly performance class for her students. Her studio includes professional singers with postgraduate degrees in vocal performance and experience in the local opera theaters. Others are confirmed amateurs, learning for personal development. Yet we are alike in one important way: everyone admits to battling nerves before performing, even when singing in this […]
The Zeigarnick Effect, or the Pull of the Unresolved
It happened again the other night. I watched a television show that concluded with a surprising twist. Later that night and the next morning, the show kept popping into my thoughts, as I pondered different ways the plot might resolve. Ah, the magic of the cliffhanger. Televisions writers know that a fresh, unresolved plot point keeps […]
Hacking the Negativity Bias When Writing
The more success you have with your writing, the more opinions you’ll hear, both good and bad. Even mildly negative criticism and setbacks can pack a punch, including: Bad online reviews Negative comments on a blog post Email unsubscribes (which always, of course, happen right after you send an email) Book returns The stray comment from an acquaintance, like […]
Writing and the Imposter Syndrome
“I’m not a writer. I’ve been fooling myself and other people. I wish I were.” If you have ever had these thoughts, you’re in good company. These words appear in the journals of John Steinbeck. Yes, that Steinbeck – the one who won a Nobel Prize for literature. He wrote this journal entry in late summer of 1938, while he […]